Victorians leading switch to GreenPower

Victorians are leading the switch to environmentally-friendly sources of power, the state government says.

More than 157,000 Victorians had signed up to the government-accredited GreenPower program by December 2006 – almost double the estimated 80,000 who were registered in December 2005.

The government said the figures showed Victoria was leading the nation in trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"In the past 12 months, Victorian households and businesses buying GreenPower have cut greenhouse pollution by an additional 188,489 tonnes – the equivalent of removing 43,530 cars from Victoria’s roads – a fantastic result for the environment," state Environment Minister John Thwaites said.

Figures show Queensland is second to Victoria with 88,611 GreenPower customers, while NSW trails with just 58,355 customers who have switched.

Under the GreenPower program, consumers can choose to have electricity supplies generated from renewable sources including solar, wind and hydro power.

Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor said Victoria represented 43 per cent of GreenPower customers nationally, with the number of consumers rising at an average of more than 6,500 per month in the last quarter.